3.1.2
Unsustainable Lies AR Gymkhana
Module: M3 | Type: Experiential Scenario
This publicactuin has been funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the project POWER - Prevention Of Weaponization and Enhancing Resilience against Security-related Disinformation on Clean Energy (Reference: 2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Introduction
Now that you know the main clean energy sources and supporting technologies, it is time to see how they work in practice. In this interactive session, you will explore real energy generation data from the four POWER partner countries and their neighbours: Romania, Spain, Malta, and Moldova. By comparing national energy mixes, you will discover how geography, policy, and history shape each country's energy profile — and begin to understand why certain technologies become targets for disinformation campaigns.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
OER Learning Objectives
By the end of this lecture, you will be able to:
Read and interpret real energy generation data from Eurostat and IRENA sources.
Compare the energy mixes of Romania, Spain, Malta, and Moldova, identifying the role of each clean energy source.
Analyse how geographical, economic, and policy factors shape national energy profiles.
Discuss which clean energy technologies are most vulnerable to disinformation and explain why.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
01
What is an energy mix?
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
02
What is an energy mix?
An energy mix is the combination of different energy sources a country uses to meet its electricity and overall energy needs. Electricity generation mix and primary energy mix are not the same: electricity is only one component of total energy, alongside transport and heating. Sources are typically grouped into fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), nuclear energy, and renewables (hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal). Every country's energy mix is shaped by its geography (sun, wind, rivers), available resources (fossil fuel reserves, land), policy choices (subsidies, targets), and historical infrastructure. Data from Eurostat and IRENA allow us to compare countries using standardised indicators such as share of renewables in gross electricity consumption (%) and total generation by source (TWh).
Key Points
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
03
Dataviz: Energy mixes compared
Instructions
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
04
Dataviz: Energy mixes compared
Spain
Romania
Malta
Moldavia
Instructions
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
05
WHICH TECHNOLOGIES ARE MOST VULNERABLE?
Wind and solar are the most targeted by disinformation across Europe — precisely because they are the most visible and fastest-growing renewable sources. POWER research has identified eight main disinformation drivers: deliberate environmental destruction, negative impact on wildlife, pollution and health risks, technical unreliability, conspiracy theories, antimodernism, greenwashing accusations, and geopolitical distraction. Technologies that change landscapes (wind turbines, solar farms) attract narratives about ecocide, wildlife harm, and rural destruction — especially in countries like Spain and Romania where large-scale deployment is happening. Technologies that are intermittent (solar, wind) attract narratives about unreliability — often amplified during grid events like the Spain blackout of April 2025. Countries with high fossil fuel dependency (Malta, Moldova) are more vulnerable to narratives that frame the energy transition as imposed by foreign agendas or global elites.
Key Points
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Summary
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Test your knowledge
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Test your knowledge
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Test your knowledge
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Well
Done
POWERInformation that drives the energy of tomorrow
power.ciberimaginario.es
This publicactuin has been funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the project POWER - Prevention Of Weaponization and Enhancing Resilience against Security-related Disinformation on Clean Energy (Reference: 2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Instructions
- Explore the chart. Each bar represents one of the four POWER partner countries. Hover over the segments to see the share of each energy source.
- Answer these questions:
- What differences stand out?
- Which country relies most on renewables?
- Which one is most dependent on fossil fuels?
Energy mix vs electricity mix: It is important to distinguish between the overall energy mix and the electricity mix. The overall energy mix (or primary energy supply) includes all forms of energy a country consumes — for electricity, heating, transport, and industrial processes. This is measured in tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) or joules, and typically includes large shares of petroleum products (for transport) and natural gas (for heating), which do not appear prominently in the electricity mix. The electricity mix, by contrast, focuses specifically on how a country generates its electrical power — and this is where renewables like wind, solar, and hydro are most visible. When we say "Spain gets 59.7% of its electricity from renewables," we are talking about the electricity mix, not total energy. The total renewable share in Spain's overall energy consumption is lower (around 25%), because transport and heating still rely heavily on fossil fuels.
This distinction matters for understanding disinformation: claims like "renewables can't power a country" often conflate the two, using overall energy figures to discredit renewable electricity performance.
This Open Educational Resource (OER) has been developed as part of the POWER Project educational platform. This interactive session builds directly on the lecture on Clean Energy Technologies (2.1.1) by putting theory into practice: you will explore real energy generation data from the POWER partner countries — Romania, Spain, Malta, and Moldova — using interactive visualisations based on Eurostat and IRENA open data. By comparing how each country generates its electricity, you will understand the different energy profiles across Europe, identify which clean energy technologies play the largest role in each national context, and discuss which technologies are most vulnerable to disinformation campaigns and why. This resource is designed for both guided classroom use and autonomous online exploration.
Main learning questions addressed:
- What does the energy mix of Romania, Spain, Malta, and Moldova look like, and how do they differ?
- Which clean energy sources dominate in each country, and what geographical or policy factors explain these differences?
- How has the share of renewables evolved over the past decade in each country?
- Which clean energy technologies are most targeted by disinformation, and why might their role in the national mix make them more vulnerable?
How to read the data:The interactive charts in the next screens use data from Eurostat (the EU's statistical office) and IRENA (the International Renewable Energy Agency). The main chart type is a stacked bar chart, where each bar represents a country and the coloured segments show the share of each energy source. The height of each segment corresponds to its percentage of total electricity generation. When hovering over a segment, you will see the exact percentage and the source name. A second chart type — the line chart or stacked area chart — shows how these shares have changed over time. Look for trends: is the renewable share growing? Is coal shrinking? Are there sudden jumps that might correspond to policy changes or new infrastructure coming online? Remember: percentages can be misleading for small countries. Malta's 10.7% renewable share sounds low, but Malta is a tiny island that historically imported almost all its energy. The absolute numbers (TWh) tell a different story.
The role of the national context A country's energy mix shapes which disinformation narratives gain traction locally. In Spain, where solar and wind deployment is massive and visible, narratives about ecocide and rural destruction resonate strongly — the POWER monitoring found that the "ecocide/macro-projects" narrative dominated general renewable energy disinformation in Spain. In Romania, where coal communities face job losses from the energy transition, narratives about economic harm and elite imposition find fertile ground.
In Malta, where the country is almost entirely dependent on imported gas, narratives may frame any renewable investment as unnecessary expense. In Moldova, deep dependence on Russian gas means energy disinformation often carries geopolitical dimensions. Understanding your own country's energy mix is the first step to understanding which disinformation narratives are most likely to affect your community.
Instructions
- Explore the chart. Each line represents one of the four POWER partner countries.
- Answer these questions:
- How has the share of renewables in electricity generation changed over the past decade?
- Select a country to see its trajectory. Which country has grown fastest?
- Has any country gone backwards?
Wind and solar as targets The POWER project's systematic literature review and social media monitoring confirm that wind and solar are by far the most targeted technologies. Onshore wind attracts narratives about bird kills, noise-related illness, landscape destruction, and technical unreliability. Offshore wind faces claims about whale deaths, marine ecosystem damage, and storm vulnerability. Solar PV is targeted with claims about toxic waste, short lifespan, high cost, and land use.
These narratives exploit legitimate concerns — real impacts do exist — but amplify them disproportionately, often using anecdotal evidence, manipulated images, or decontextualised data to create a misleading picture. The key disinformation technique is to take a real but manageable issue (e.g. bird mortality from turbines) and present it as if it invalidates the entire technology.
312-POWER-Lecture
URJC
Created on April 7, 2026
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Transcript
3.1.2
Unsustainable Lies AR Gymkhana
Module: M3 | Type: Experiential Scenario
This publicactuin has been funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the project POWER - Prevention Of Weaponization and Enhancing Resilience against Security-related Disinformation on Clean Energy (Reference: 2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Introduction
Now that you know the main clean energy sources and supporting technologies, it is time to see how they work in practice. In this interactive session, you will explore real energy generation data from the four POWER partner countries and their neighbours: Romania, Spain, Malta, and Moldova. By comparing national energy mixes, you will discover how geography, policy, and history shape each country's energy profile — and begin to understand why certain technologies become targets for disinformation campaigns.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
OER Learning Objectives
By the end of this lecture, you will be able to:
Read and interpret real energy generation data from Eurostat and IRENA sources.
Compare the energy mixes of Romania, Spain, Malta, and Moldova, identifying the role of each clean energy source.
Analyse how geographical, economic, and policy factors shape national energy profiles.
Discuss which clean energy technologies are most vulnerable to disinformation and explain why.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
01
What is an energy mix?
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
02
What is an energy mix?
An energy mix is the combination of different energy sources a country uses to meet its electricity and overall energy needs. Electricity generation mix and primary energy mix are not the same: electricity is only one component of total energy, alongside transport and heating. Sources are typically grouped into fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), nuclear energy, and renewables (hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal). Every country's energy mix is shaped by its geography (sun, wind, rivers), available resources (fossil fuel reserves, land), policy choices (subsidies, targets), and historical infrastructure. Data from Eurostat and IRENA allow us to compare countries using standardised indicators such as share of renewables in gross electricity consumption (%) and total generation by source (TWh).
Key Points
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
03
Dataviz: Energy mixes compared
Instructions
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
04
Dataviz: Energy mixes compared
Spain
Romania
Malta
Moldavia
Instructions
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
05
WHICH TECHNOLOGIES ARE MOST VULNERABLE?
Wind and solar are the most targeted by disinformation across Europe — precisely because they are the most visible and fastest-growing renewable sources. POWER research has identified eight main disinformation drivers: deliberate environmental destruction, negative impact on wildlife, pollution and health risks, technical unreliability, conspiracy theories, antimodernism, greenwashing accusations, and geopolitical distraction. Technologies that change landscapes (wind turbines, solar farms) attract narratives about ecocide, wildlife harm, and rural destruction — especially in countries like Spain and Romania where large-scale deployment is happening. Technologies that are intermittent (solar, wind) attract narratives about unreliability — often amplified during grid events like the Spain blackout of April 2025. Countries with high fossil fuel dependency (Malta, Moldova) are more vulnerable to narratives that frame the energy transition as imposed by foreign agendas or global elites.
Key Points
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Summary
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Test your knowledge
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Test your knowledge
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Test your knowledge
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Well
Done
POWERInformation that drives the energy of tomorrow
power.ciberimaginario.es
This publicactuin has been funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the project POWER - Prevention Of Weaponization and Enhancing Resilience against Security-related Disinformation on Clean Energy (Reference: 2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
POWER Project [2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000245038]
Instructions
Energy mix vs electricity mix: It is important to distinguish between the overall energy mix and the electricity mix. The overall energy mix (or primary energy supply) includes all forms of energy a country consumes — for electricity, heating, transport, and industrial processes. This is measured in tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) or joules, and typically includes large shares of petroleum products (for transport) and natural gas (for heating), which do not appear prominently in the electricity mix. The electricity mix, by contrast, focuses specifically on how a country generates its electrical power — and this is where renewables like wind, solar, and hydro are most visible. When we say "Spain gets 59.7% of its electricity from renewables," we are talking about the electricity mix, not total energy. The total renewable share in Spain's overall energy consumption is lower (around 25%), because transport and heating still rely heavily on fossil fuels.
This distinction matters for understanding disinformation: claims like "renewables can't power a country" often conflate the two, using overall energy figures to discredit renewable electricity performance.
This Open Educational Resource (OER) has been developed as part of the POWER Project educational platform. This interactive session builds directly on the lecture on Clean Energy Technologies (2.1.1) by putting theory into practice: you will explore real energy generation data from the POWER partner countries — Romania, Spain, Malta, and Moldova — using interactive visualisations based on Eurostat and IRENA open data. By comparing how each country generates its electricity, you will understand the different energy profiles across Europe, identify which clean energy technologies play the largest role in each national context, and discuss which technologies are most vulnerable to disinformation campaigns and why. This resource is designed for both guided classroom use and autonomous online exploration.
Main learning questions addressed:
How to read the data:The interactive charts in the next screens use data from Eurostat (the EU's statistical office) and IRENA (the International Renewable Energy Agency). The main chart type is a stacked bar chart, where each bar represents a country and the coloured segments show the share of each energy source. The height of each segment corresponds to its percentage of total electricity generation. When hovering over a segment, you will see the exact percentage and the source name. A second chart type — the line chart or stacked area chart — shows how these shares have changed over time. Look for trends: is the renewable share growing? Is coal shrinking? Are there sudden jumps that might correspond to policy changes or new infrastructure coming online? Remember: percentages can be misleading for small countries. Malta's 10.7% renewable share sounds low, but Malta is a tiny island that historically imported almost all its energy. The absolute numbers (TWh) tell a different story.
The role of the national context A country's energy mix shapes which disinformation narratives gain traction locally. In Spain, where solar and wind deployment is massive and visible, narratives about ecocide and rural destruction resonate strongly — the POWER monitoring found that the "ecocide/macro-projects" narrative dominated general renewable energy disinformation in Spain. In Romania, where coal communities face job losses from the energy transition, narratives about economic harm and elite imposition find fertile ground.
In Malta, where the country is almost entirely dependent on imported gas, narratives may frame any renewable investment as unnecessary expense. In Moldova, deep dependence on Russian gas means energy disinformation often carries geopolitical dimensions. Understanding your own country's energy mix is the first step to understanding which disinformation narratives are most likely to affect your community.
Instructions
Wind and solar as targets The POWER project's systematic literature review and social media monitoring confirm that wind and solar are by far the most targeted technologies. Onshore wind attracts narratives about bird kills, noise-related illness, landscape destruction, and technical unreliability. Offshore wind faces claims about whale deaths, marine ecosystem damage, and storm vulnerability. Solar PV is targeted with claims about toxic waste, short lifespan, high cost, and land use.
These narratives exploit legitimate concerns — real impacts do exist — but amplify them disproportionately, often using anecdotal evidence, manipulated images, or decontextualised data to create a misleading picture. The key disinformation technique is to take a real but manageable issue (e.g. bird mortality from turbines) and present it as if it invalidates the entire technology.